No More Highway Patrolmen Monitoring Arizona Freeway Construction Sites
The Arizona Republic reported on November 15, 2008 that due to financial reasons the 10-year contract allowing the Arizona Department of Transportation to hire Arizona Department of Public Safety officers along with their patrol vehicles was no longer in effect beginning that day. ADOT will now be using police officers from other agencies whenever they feel it is required. Some officials with the Highway Patrol union stated that the hiring of other agencies was what led to the creation of the contract with the DPS in the first place. Now they are concerned that the safety of construction workers and motorists might be jeopardized, leading to more Arizona construction site accidents.
John Ortolano, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 32, said, “You’ll have an officer not familiar with working on the state highway, not radioed in, not properly trained.”
According to the Federal Highway Administration the number of free work-site accidents grew by 40% during the years of 1997-2005, with more than 1,000 deaths in 2005 and more that 40,000 hurt. Nationally safety standards do not mandate the use of uniformed officers at work zones. Often times on Arizona highways, uniformed officers are used in construction areas with heavy traffic and fast speeds.
Doug Nintzel, an ADOT representative said, “The use of officers has always been a situation of going above and beyond the safety standards. It does help because motorists do tend to pay attention to a patrol car with its emergency lights on.” Nintzel also stated that the principal safety measures included utilizing barrier walls, signs, reflective barricades, and energy-absorbing vehicles. The original contract between ADOT and DPS stated “the primary importance is for the officer to position himself where he can be easily observed by the public.”
Construction workers from Glendale, Arizona to Mesa, Arizona and everywhere in between throughout the Phoenix area put themselves in jeopardy when they must do their job on Arizona’s highways. Many careful workers have been injured on our highways due to Arizona car accidents while the construction workers were just doing their jobs.
Attorneys Alexis Breyer and Mark Breyer have extensive knowledge and experience and are willing to answer the difficult questions that follow any serious injury. Not all workers hurt on our freeways are entitled to make injury claims beyond the limits of workers’ compensation. Determining whether a claim can be made, what that claim offers beyond workers’ compensation, and whether it is a good idea to pursue the claim are important questions that should be answered by experienced, knowledgeable lawyers. For workers injury in Arizona construction accidents that need lawyers who understand this area of law, please call 602-978-6400 for a free consultation or to have your important questions answered to allow you to make the best decision for you and your family.
